Harnessing the Hofmeister Effect for Simultaneous Strengthening and Toughening of Cellulosic Triboelectric Materials

Abstract

Flexible film materials often experience a decline in toughness while pursuing high strength. This challenge of balancing strength and toughness restricts their application in fields such as tissue engineering, soft robotics, and wearable electronic products. Inspired by the multilevel structures of natural materials, this study proposes a hydrogen-bond network restructuring strategy based on "multilevel crosslinking" to simultaneously enhance the tensile strength and toughness of cellulosic triboelectric films. During the reconstruction of the hydrogen bonding network, MXene nanosheets first form a dynamically pre-crosslinked network with polymer chains via hydrogen bonds. Subsequently, the Hofmeister effect enhances hydrogen bond interactions, inducing aggregation/crystallization to build domain networks and establish a multi-level crosslinked structure. This yields flexible cellulosic triboelectric films with enhanced strength and toughness, capable of withstanding loads exceeding 22,700 times their own weight. Simultaneously, the aggregation/crystallization of molecular chains induces rearrangement of surface functional groups, thereby altering surface potential and enhancing the material's electron-donating capacity, ultimately improving the triboelectric properties. This strategy offers novel insights for designing and fabricating high-performance flexible films required in next-generation flexible electronic devices, wearable technology, and related fields.